Scarlet #2- I think I’m possibly more annoyed by the constant acclaim for this series than the book itself, but then I read the issue and I have to say I’m 50/50. I’m unimpressed with the book itself in equal proportion to the way people have been clamoring that it’s the best thing ever within the one issue that was ok at the best. There’s this strange need in the comic book world to hype the hell out of Bendis and anything he does, and honestly I haven’t thought of him as groundbreaking since he started Powers. I’ll say this about this issue, it didn’t annoy me as much as the first one did. The script is a Bendis script that doesn’t try to be anything else and Maleev’s art, while pretty, relies too much on digital bullcrap that distracts from the actual story and layouts. C+

Action Comics #891-892- Finally got a hold of these issues since we’ve been selling out at light speed at the store. And yup, they are worth the wait. Cornell delivers a fun, innovative, and compelling vehicle for Lex Luthor to shine here and Pete Woods is really making this a great book to look at. If you have not taken the time to at least try the first issue of the run do yourself a favor and find a copy now. A

Murderland #2- More stuff happens! While I think I enjoyed this issue a little more than the first, I honestly don’t feel any interest in the characters. So far I haven’t felt that there has been any real development and stuff just happens that we should be intrigued by but without an anchor (and I assume it should be the Arabber character) it all just comes off as a sequence of events with some familiar faces floating around. The art is solid, but the entire thing feels directionless. C+

Punisher Max: Happy Ending #1- Just to get this out of the way ahead of time, I really don’t like Peter Milligan’s writing. I know I’m in the minority, but every time I read something of his I never enjoy it. It’s a mixture of his characters feeling shallow and an underlying arrogance in his writing I can’t quite put my finger on. His actual scripting is sound, I’m not arguing his technical abilities. And I always try to give him another chance. Sadly, I was disappointed again with this one shot. First of all, I really do like Juan Jose Ryp and I am impressed with the amount of work he’s able to put out with the level of detail in his art. No problems with the art here. No, my main problem is the lack of characterization and these sad excuses of flotsam that populate the story. The thing is, even an unlikable character can be technically likable because they have an intriguing personality. Saying a character doesn’t have to be likable is a cheap excuse for writing bad characters. That being said, it’s incredibly easy to write an unlikable character and make them amusing for the reader and yet not one single character did I give a damn about in this story. Nothing that actually happened was intriguing, unique, good, or amusing. Seriously, this had to be the pitch, “So this middle aged dude goes to get a handjob, and then the Punisher shows up! Hilarity ensues and we can compare the middle age dude to, like, Bruce Willis because PEOPLE WILL GET THAT AND THINK IT’S FUNNY.” Seriously, put Ryp on something good now guys. D+